VA won't fire officials who defrauded agency, pleaded Fifth

A pair of Department of Veterans Affairs officials who invoked their Fifth Amendment rights earlier this month rather than answer questions about their alleged involvement in a fraud scheme will remain at the agency.

Diane Rubens and Kimberly Graves were both demoted and reassigned to other VA offices as a result of their misconduct, the agency said late Friday. They will each receive a pay cut.

Rubens and Graves were accused of manipulating a VA program that pays for the relocation of employees who have to move long distances to take new jobs within the agency.

According to the VA's inspector general, Rubens created a position for herself in Philadelphia and then accepted it, netting $274,000 in the process. Her new job entailed far fewer responsibilities, but she retained the same six-figure salary.